Bulgaria Casualties in Balkan Wars and WWI

Jewish Bulgarian Casualties
during the Balkans Wars and WWI
by Mathilde Tagger
In 1396 the Ottomans conquered Bulgaria which then became part of the Ottoman Empire and remained so until 1878. Following the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), and as a result of the Berlin Peace Treaty, Bulgaria became an independent state, while Ottoman rule continued for a while longer in Macedonia and in Eastern Rumelia. In 1885 these provinces became part of Bulgaria.

After Bulgaria's independence a new era began. During the negotiations of the 1878 Berlin Peace Treaty, the leaders of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Paris applied great pressure on the parties and the result was that the Bulgarian nation officially granted equal rights to its Jewish inhabitants. The feudal atmosphere completely changed in the new economic-social and cultural conditions. The Bulgarian language and culture became part of the everyday life and the Jews adopted it as their mother tongue.

These facts strongly influenced the local Jews who from then on felt themselves equal citizens. Very much committed to their fatherland, Jews took part in the Balkans Wars and WWI as a full part of the Bulgarian army.

Nearly one thousand Jewish soldiers were killed during these wars.

The present index lists their surnames and given names (the second given name is very often the father's name), the places of the birth (from all over the country) and the year they were killed.